


Remember Me

by Singerme



Category: Gunsmoke
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 10:12:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/608688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singerme/pseuds/Singerme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt Dillon gets shot in a bank holdup and loses his memory.  Will he remember Kitty?</p>
<p>(I really have to give a lot of thanks to my friend Reddzz for her help on this.  She gave me some much needed direction on the last few chapters.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Remember Me Parts 1 thru 8

I don’t own these characters; I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

**Author’s Note:  I have to give a lot of thanks on this to my friend Deb/Redzz.  When I lost my direction a little, she steered me back onto the right path to finish this and provided me with a couple of essential plot elements.  I am truly grateful for her help.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

Sleepy azure eyes opened and peered over at the tall man silently getting dressed to leave. Though always a touch sad at seeing him go, she understood his reasons. He didn’t want to endanger her by letting everyone know they were a couple. Smiling at the memory of their previous night’s lovemaking she thought about that.

They were a couple! From the moment she had first laid eyes on Matt Dillon, that was what she wanted, but for a while there, she didn’t think it would ever happen. But they had been together now for six years and each day their love grew stronger.

Of course they’d had their fights, mostly about his badge and her stubbornness but the making up was always worth the fight.

“Leaving so early, Cowboy?” she asked as he buckled on his gun belt.

Matt turned and grinned as he stepped over the bed and bent to kiss her. “I should’ve been up about an hour ago,” he told her, “but a certain red head wouldn’t let me get any sleep.”

“Oh really?” she arched a brow in mock irritation. “I seem to remember it the other way around. In fact I know it was the other way around.”

Matt’s grin broadened. “I think maybe you’re right?”

Kitty returned the grin and reached for him, pulling him back for one more kiss before letting him go. “Will I see you later?”

Matt nodded. “Unless I get a telegram telling me otherwise, I plan on staying right here in town and taking the prettiest woman in Dodge to supper tonight. That is if she’ll go with me.”

Kitty gave him her prettiest and happiest smile. “Oh she’ll go alright.” She told him. “She’d go anywhere with you and stay with you too.”

Matt stole one last kiss before turning for the door. “I am very glad to hear that,” he smiled. “See ya later, Kitty.”

Kitty watched him go then settled herself back into bed. It was still early and she planned on getting at least a little more sleep before starting her day.

Matt made his way quickly down the back steps of the Long Branch and into the early morning streets of Dodge City. Being early yet, he didn’t expect to find much mischief to deal with.   Heading over to the jail, he decided to see if Chester was up and would like to have breakfast with him.

Smiling to himself he thought of the reason he had such a big appetite this morning and was looking forward to working up another one come evening.

Reaching the jail, he found Chester up and hovering over the stove, putting on a pot of what he called coffee. Matt had other names for it but declined to say them out loud.

“Chester,” he said as he entered, “Why don’t you leave that and let’s go get some breakfast?  Steak and eggs sounds pretty good.”

“Mr. Dillon,” Chester sighed, reaching for his hat, “thems the prettiest words in the English language.”

Matt grinned and shook his head leading the way out of the office and over to the café.

Breakfast was almost consumed and Matt was mentally going over a list of things he needed to do that day when shots were heard coming from down the street. Glancing at Chester, he grabbed his hat and headed out of the restaurant, running towards the sound of gunfire.

As he came abreast of the bank, two men ran out firing indiscriminately at anyone in their path. “Hold it!” Matt demanded.   Pulling his gun, he fired hitting one of the two men. The other one whirled and fired twice creasing Matt on the side of the head and hitting him once in the shoulder. Matt managed to squeeze off one more shot, killing the robber, before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.

Not long after Matt left her room, Kitty’s restless nature pulled her from bed and she quickly dressed and headed downstairs to get a head start on her days work. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs though, she heard gunfire. Her heart beating wildly she rushed to the batwing doors and looked out just in time to see the shootout and Matt falling senseless to the ground.

Pushing all thoughts of propriety away, she ran headlong out into the street, pushing her way through the gathering crowd of onlookers to reach Matt’s side. Gathering him in her arms, she pulled his head up to lay in her lap as Doc headed quickly in their direction.

Doc took only moments to gently examine Matt before ordering him taken up to his office.

“Doc?” Kitty questioned fearfully, seeing the physician’s expression as Matt was swiftly lifted by several men and carried away to Doc’s upstairs office.

Doc glanced at her only for a moment. “I don’t know, Kitty.” He said. Taking a swipe of his mustache he turned and headed back towards his office, praying the law man’s wounds weren’t as serious as they looked.

Kitty stood to her feet and watched him leave then gathered her skirts and hurried after him. No power on earth could prevent her from being there for the man she loved.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 2)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Doc took one more listen to Matt’s chest before pulling the stethoscope from his ears and accepting the cup of coffee Kitty held out to him. “Thank you, Kitty.” He murmured gratefully.

“How is he?” she asked fretfully. “Is….is he going to be alright?”

Doc glanced up at her, seeing the fear and worry working their way through her. Smiling gently he nodded. “I think he will be, Kitty. That shoulder wound wasn’t too bad at all.  It’ll be sore for a while, but it’ll be just fine.”

Kitty noticed his omission. “What about his head?” she asked. “How bad is that?”

Doc shrugged, knowing he couldn’t keep much from her but not sure how to tell her his suspicions. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “That bullet cut a pretty deep groove in the side of his skull and I just won’t know how much damage it’s done until he comes to.” ‘Or if he comes to.’ He silently added.

Kitty took a shuddering breath and sat down in a chair beside the table Matt was lying on. “What if he doesn’t come to?” she asked the question Doc hadn’t wanted to answer. .

Doc set his coffee down and knelt down beside her, pulling her into a comforting embrace for a moment. Finally releasing her, he captured her frightened gaze with his own reassuring one. “Matt Dillon is a tough man, Kitty. You know that. If anyone can come through this, he can. Now you just believe that.”

Kitty held his eyes for a moment then ducked her head, a silent tear tracking down her face. “Alright,” she whispered.

Doc rose, kissed her on the forehead and took up his cup again, settling in a chair beside her to wait out the night, praying the man that both he and Kitty loved, would wake up.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Next Morning)**

The first thing he noticed was the light coming into the room through the window beside him, aggravating the headache that had awakened him. Then he noticed the beautiful woman sitting next to him, her head drooping to her chest as she dozed. Looking around him he recognized the room he was in but for some odd reason couldn’t quite recall where it was.

As he struggled to sit up the woman woke, instantly rose and stepped across to his side, gently placing her hands on his shoulders to prevent him from moving. “Matt, don’t move.” She told him, her perfume sweetly wafting over him.

Matt looked at her in confusion for a moment as the door opened and an older gentleman walked into the room. “Well,” he exclaimed with a smile, “I see you decided to rejoin the land of the living.”

Matt switched his confused stare from the red head beside him to the old man. “Who are you?” He demanded a little weakly, as his head began to pound harder. Pulling his hand from the woman beside him, he reached to massage his aching temple and noticed the bandage tied about his head. “What happened?”

Doc saw the confusion in Matt’s eyes and the hurt in Kitty’s, as the lawman looked at the both of them without the light of recognition, something he had hoped wouldn’t happen.

“Kitty,” Doc said. “I wonder if you could leave us alone for a little bit while I examine my patient. Maybe you could make us a fresh pot of coffee.”

Kitty glanced over at Doc and wanted to protest but the look on Matt’s face stopped her. “Alright, Doc. I’ll just be in the other room if you need me.” Giving Matt a brief smile, she turned and left the room, trying hard to hide the hurt and keep the tears inside.

Matt watched her go, saddened at the loss for some reason he couldn’t comprehend, before looking back at the old man still standing there. “I take it you’re a doctor?” he asked, wishing the woman hadn’t left.

Doc nodded, scrubbing his mustache as he reached for his bag and the stethoscope inside. “My name’s Adams. Most people call me Doc.”

Matt carefully tilted his head towards the door. “You called that woman Kitty?”

Doc nodded. “Yes, her name’s Kitty Russell. She stayed up here to help me with you last night.”

Matt considered that information for a moment. “She your nurse or something?”

Doc shook his head, somewhat amused at the man’s interest. “No, no she owns the Long Branch saloon across the way. She’s just a good friend and a darn fine nurse when she needs to be.  She’s helped me many times.”

Matt looked around the room again before raising his gaze back to Doc’s tired countenance. “This room seems awful familiar. I take it I’ve been here before.”

Doc nodded. “Yes, you have, several times as both patient and friend. Is that all you remember?”

Matt searched his memory. “I guess so.” He said truthfully. “I do know though that I don’t remember you or that woman that just left. What happened to me, Doctor? Why can’t I remember?”

Doc took a deep breath and looked down the man he thought of as almost a son, realizing the man didn’t know him at all. “I’ll do my best to explain all this to you.” He told the lawman. “But it’s not going to be easy.  To begin with, your name is Matt Dillon……”

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 3)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Late That Afternoon)**

Kitty sat almost stone like as Doc explained the medical facts, or at least those he knew, of amnesia. “I’m sorry, Kitty.” Doc finally concluded. “I wish I could tell you more but that’s about all I know. Amnesia is a pretty rare phenomena and not much is known about what triggers it or how to resolve it. What little information I was able to find wasn’t too helpful. Best I can tell is that head wound caused his memory loss.”

Kitty looked up at Doc before returning her gaze to the still full coffee cup resting on the table in front of her. “So he doesn’t know me or you or anyone else, including himself?” she couldn’t keep the tone of incredulity out of her voice.

“That’s about the size of it.” Doc answered. “I’ve sent a wire to a colleague of mine in Baltimore hoping he’ll have a little more information on what to do about this but for right now I think its best we just play it by ear. Let Matt dictate how close we get to him and answer only the questions he asks.  Of course it goes without saying that we’ll need to keep this quiet.  If anyone knew Matt couldn’t remember it could be dangerous for him.”

“What about Chester?” Kitty asked suddenly remembering her friend’s gift of gossip.

“Oh don’t worry about him,” Doc told her.  “I made it clear that one word from him about Matt’s condition to anyone and he’d be waking up on the other side of the world.  He won’t say anything.  He knows it’s important to protect Matt right now.”

Kitty absently nodded, still trying hard to grapple with the fact that Matt didn’t remember her or the love they shared. “Do you have any idea how long it will last? I mean could it be permanent?”

Doc saw the fear of that possibility clearly evident in her expression and the way she constantly rubbed the rim of her cup without ever picking it up for a sip of her now cold coffee. Reaching over, he gently clasped her hands in his. “Kitty, I wish I had an easy fix for this but I don’t. Right now all we can do is bide our time and give Matt time and space.  I don’t think this will be permanent but I can’t be for sure.”

“What if he asks?” She questioned knowing Doc understood.

“Then you answer his question honestly.” Doc answered. “But only if he asks, Kitty. I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell him too much. He might not be able to tell the difference between his own memories and what someone tells him. The truth is we just don’t know enough about this yet and I don’t want to risk making him any more confused than he already is.”

Kitty nodded glumly and looked back down at the still full plate of food in front of her. “It’s not gonna be easy, Doc. You know that?”

Doc nodded and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I know, honey,” he said, “but right now it’s the best we can do.”

As Doc and Kitty sat in Delmonico’s talking, neither one was aware of the woman, who had been sitting directly behind Kitty, get up and leave. A woman who heard every word and smiled delightedly at having just discovered a way to obtain the one thing she had always wanted. Matt Dillon.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Next Morning)**

Matt sat up slowly in the bed in Doc’s back bedroom, carefully massaging his wounded left shoulder. Thank God it wasn’t his right arm, he thought. Then just as that thought struck so did another. How come it was that he could remember he was right-handed, but he couldn’t remember his name, what he did for a living or a single soul that he might be close to?

The three people he had met, since he came to the morning before, were pleasant enough but they held no special significance to him. Well, he amended that thought, the men didn’t but the woman… well she was a different matter.

Though certainly beautiful, he knew it wasn’t just her looks that stirred something in him. He felt a certain pull to her but for the life of him he didn’t understand why. Surely if there was something between them he would remember it or at the very least she would’ve said so.

But of course right then he wasn’t sure of anything.  The Doctor had told him his name and what he did for a living and thinking about he could remember some things about being a lawman but the people around him were total strangers.

Hearing the outer door open he turned his head to see the young limping man from earlier walk in.

“How are you doing, Mr. Dillon?” Chester inquired.

Matt looked at the young man’s face trying hard to remember something about him but nothing but his name came to mind and that was only because the Doctor had introduced them. “You’re name’s Chester, isn’t it?”

Chester nodded with a grin. “Yes, sir.” He answered, glad that Matt could remember that much, at least. “I’m your assistant over at the jail.”

Matt scrutinized the skinny man with the twang for a moment, trying to imagine why he would’ve hired someone like him to be an assistant. Deciding he would figure it out later, he pulled the covers from his body and moved to the side of the bed, struggling to get up.

“What on earth are you doing, Mr. Dillon?” Chester asked as he quickly crossed over to the side of the bed and reached out a helping hand. “You shouldn’t be trying to get up.”

Matt ignored the man’s protests and scanned the room for his clothes. “Chester,” Matt said. “Can you look around and see if you can find my clothes? I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Well, they ain’t here, Mr. Dillon.” Chester said nervously. “They was awful dirty and tore up and all and Miss Kitty said she’d take em and get em cleaned and mended for ya. She ain’t brought em back yet.”

“I see,” Matt said rather crossly. “Well, surely I have more than one set of clothes.  Do you think you could go find me some?”

“Find you some?” Chester stalled. He knew Doc would be upset with him for helping Mr. Dillon get out but Mr. Dillon was his boss after all, even if he didn’t remember it.

Matt glared at his assistant again wondering why he had thought he would be good in such a job. “Yeah, Chester,” he snapped.  “Go get me some clothes and hurry up about it.”

“Oh, yeah, yes, sir.” Chester said as he quickly made his way out of the room and the office. He sure hoped Mr. Dillon got his memory back quick.

As Chester hurried out of the office and across the street, a figure stepped out of the shadows of Doc’s stairway and quietly ascended the stairs to injured man above.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 4)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Still feeling a little light headed, Matt settled back against the head board of the bed to wait for Chester to bring him his clothes. Searching his faulty memory banks, he still couldn’t bring to mind any faces, or names to go with them, from before he was hurt.

The fact that he remembered some things but not others frustrated him to no end. It was as if a giant hand reached into his head and took most of his memories leaving just scattered stray and disconnected recollections.  Thinking about it, he remembered his job, even the paperwork sitting on his desk needing to be done. But the people around him were complete strangers.  When the Doctor had told him his name it felt right but he couldn’t actually say he remembered it.

The outer door opened, freeing him from his thoughts for a moment. Turning his head he expected to see Chester come back with his clothes or maybe the Doctor but instead a woman was standing in the doorway. “Hello,” Matt said hesitantly.

“Hello, Matt.” The short brunette with the vivid green eyes and tiny frame answered as she moved into the room and stepped up next to the bed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get up here earlier but Doc wouldn’t let me come until he knew you would be okay. I guess he knows how much it would hurt me if you weren’t.”

“It would?” Matt questioned. As with everyone else this woman wasn’t familiar in the slightest to him but apparently he was to her.

“Of course it would, darling.” She exclaimed as she sat down beside him on the bed. “We love one another and when you’re hurt, I’m hurt.”

Matt’s brow shot up. “We love one another?” He was struggling to understand that. He had felt more of a connection to the enigmatic red head than to this woman.

“Yes, we do,” the woman said rather petulantly. “Oh, sweetheart, I know you were hurt and Doc said there are things you can’t remember right now, but I don’t want you to worry. I’m going to help you recover those memories. I’m going to tell you all about us and how much we care about one another.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(An hour later)**

Once again, Doc and Kitty met over at Delmonico’s to share a meal and talk, though in they did very little of either one.  Neither one knew of anything they could do for the man they both loved.  Finally deciding that warming the cafés chairs wasn’t solving any of their problems, they rose and left.

After delivering Kitty back to the Long Branch, Doc stopped in at the jail before heading back to his office. Walking in, he found Chester tearing around the room frantically searching the cupboards and drawers in the place.

“Chester, what in tarnation are you doing?” Doc asked somewhat amused at the young man’s frazzled appearance. “You lose your dime novel or something?”

Chester glared at Doc as he scanned the room again. “No, I didn’t lose no dime novel,” he said exasperatedly. “I can’t find Mr. Dillon’s extra set of clothes. I thought they’d be here but I just can’t find them.” His voice was plaintive as he thought of making Mr. Dillon upset when he went back without the missing articles.

“Well, good Heaven’s, Chester.” Doc snorted. “What do you want his clothes for anyway? He’s not going anywhere for a day or two and I don’t think they’d fit you.”

Chester’s glare intensified at the physician’s obvious delight in his dilemma. “They’re not for me and Mr. Dillon said he needed to get up and around. But he cain’t do that in his long johns and I can’t find his extra set of clothes anywhere, Doc. I have tore this place apart looking for them.”

Upon hearing Matt’s plans for escaping his office, Doc’s face lost its mirth. Though not entirely surprised at Matt’s desire to be up and going, he was worried about what it could mean to his recovery. Leaving Chester to continue his search, Doc left the jail and hurried up to his office to confront his patient.

Entering his office, Doc heard a soft, high-pitched feminine giggle that he knew wasn’t Kitty’s. Without knocking Doc opened the door to find Teresa Spencer sitting on the side of the bed, holding tightly to Matt’s hand, a seductive smile on her lips. Startled to see her there as well as the intimate way in which she and Matt were looking at each other, Doc stopped just inside the door. Not sure what to say.

Matt looked up, saw the physician standing there and wondered about the look of disapproval on the man’s face. Surely the physician could have no objection to a man’s fiancé visiting him when he’s hurt.

Noticing Matt’s shift of focus, Teresa looked up at Doc and gave him a Cheshire smile. “Well, hello, Dr. Adams.” She greeted him. “I was just checking on Matt to see when he can get out of here. I was thinking maybe he could stay at my place for a few days till he’s completely back on his feet. He’d be a lot more comfortable.”

Doc eyed the two people for a moment before beckoning to Teresa. “Teresa, I wonder if I could see you out here for a moment.” Doc said holding the door and making it clear he would not accept a refusal.

Teresa saw the look on his face and glanced uneasily at Matt before regaining her smile and nodded. “Of course, Doctor.” Turning back to Matt, she leaned in and brushed her lips across his mouth. “I’ll leave you to get a little more rest, Matt, until Chester returns. But remember, when Dr. Adams here does release you, I expect you to come straight to me.”

Matt nodded and gave her a smile as she left the room but he wasn’t sure if he would go to her or not. Something just didn’t seem right to him. The woman was pleasant enough and certainly beautiful but her kiss hadn’t sparked anything in him.

At least not the way the saloon owners touch had. Something about that woman sparked all kinds of thoughts and emotions he wasn’t sure what to do with. Shaking his head, he determined he would figure it all out when he was finally free of his sick bed and could get some time alone to sort it all out.

Once Teresa and Doc had reached the outer office, Doc closed the bedroom door and pulled Teresa away from it so Matt couldn’t over hear their conversation. “You want to tell me what you were doing in there?” he demanded.

“Why, Dr. Adams, I told you. I was checking on Matt. I just wanted to make sure he was alright.”

“From what I could see you were doing a great deal more than that.” Doc retorted angrily, jamming his hands into his pockets. “Marshal Dillon was hurt pretty badly in that bank holdup Ms. Spencer and I don’t want him disturbed until he’s feeling more like himself. Do you understand?”

Teresa gave Doc a smirk as she walked towards the door. “Oh I understand perfectly, Dr. Adams.” Her eyes held a slightly evil glint. “And I don’t want you to worry about a thing. I will make certain, Matt Dillon is perfectly happy.”

At a loss for words, Doc stood dumbly as Teresa left the office, closing the door soundlessly behind her. He knew Teresa had held a torch for Matt for some time and he knew she could be ruthless when in pursuit of what she wanted. But what he didn’t know was exactly how to stop her.

Though Matt’s relationship with Kitty was no real secret amongst the citizens of Dodge, it was nevertheless not spoken of. And though Doc knew Matt had never dallied with Teresa, he wasn’t sure just how to tell Matt that or even if he should. His patient’s love life was certainly not his to interfere with.

But still, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Teresa tear apart a relationship like Matt and Kitty’s, without trying to do something to stop it. Glancing at the closed bedroom door, Doc took a deep breath and headed in to talk to Matt.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 5)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.** **Also, I know all about Doctor/Patient confidentiality, but it doesn’t apply in this.  I mean after all, it’s Kitty.  Doc can tell her anything**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(The Next Day)**

Though his faded exterior often belied the fact, Sam Noonan was a very astute man. He could generally size a man up and tell you what kind of person he was, simply by what he ordered to drink and how he drank it. He could also generally tell when his boss was unhappy or sad, simply by how she said hello. And today he could tell she was very unhappy.

Glancing around at the quiet barroom, Sam stepped up to the table Kitty was currently occupying with her books and her melancholy thoughts. “Miss Kitty, it’s awful quiet in here,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind at all watching over things here if you’d like to go on over to Doc’s and check on the Marshal.”

Kitty gave him a fleeting and grateful smile but shook her head no. “Thank you, Sam.” She told him. “But for now at least, it’s best I stay here. I think the Marshal needs his rest.”

Sam knew the Marshal’s need for sleep wasn’t the real reason she was staying put but he also knew it was not his place to meddle. “Alright,” he said as he walked back over to the bar.

Kitty bowed her head back over her books but it wasn’t a column of figures that her mind was centered on. She just kept thinking of Matt and how it must be for him not to know those around him. Not to know how much he was loved.

“Miss Kitty,” Chester broke into her thoughts. “I just come from Doc’s office and he said he wanted to see you when you got a chance.”

Kitty looked up worriedly at her friend. “Is everything alright?” she asked. “I mean Matt’s not……”

“Oh no, he’s fine,” Chester hastily reassured her. “Doc says he’s getting along just real fine. But Doc did want to talk to you.”  His expression of worried concerned made her to realize it was important she went immediately.

Rather than question Chester, Kitty sighed and stood up, closing her books and looking back over to the bar. “Sam, looks like I’ll be going over to Doc’s after all. Keep an eye on things here for a little while, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sam answered relieved she was going and hoping a visit with the Marshal would make her feel better.

Noticing that Chester didn’t follow her as he normally would, Kitty picked up her pace a little. Doc must have told him to stay away which meant what he needed to say was personal.

Upon her knock, Doc opened the door and ushered her inside. “Come on in, Kitty.” He said. “I’m glad you came over.”

“What’s wrong, Doc.” Kitty got down to it quickly. “Did something happen to Matt? He is okay isn’t he?”

“Oh, good Heavens, Kitty. Yes he’s fine. But he is the reason I sent Chester for you. I have something I need to talk to you about.”

Kitty glanced uneasily around the office, noticing that the bedroom door was open. “Matt’s not here?” She asked.

Doc tugged at his ear, and shook his head. “No, he’s left already. I tried to get him to stay but he wouldn’t. You know how Matt is.”

Kitty shook her head. “Not lately I don’t.” she said rather sadly.

Doc nodded in agreement and walked over to the stove. “Care for a cup of coffee?” he asked.

“No, Doc,” Kitty answered, “I don’t want any coffee, I want to know why you sent for me.  What’s wrong?”

Doc heard the frustrated worry in her voice and understood. He knew what he was going to tell her wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to tell her nonetheless. He didn’t want her to hear from anyone else. Pouring himself a cup of the strong black brew, he kept his back to her for a moment trying to decide how best to broach the subject.

Finally turning to her, he began. “Kitty, I asked you up here to talk to you because I didn’t want you to hear this by gossip.”

“Hear what?” she asked, her voice tinged with fear.

Doc studied her intense blue gaze before dropping his eyes with a sigh. “You remember Teresa Spencer?”

Kitty nodded. How could she forget the woman that had tried so hard and so unsuccessfully to steal Matt away from her? “Yeah, what about her?”

Doc set the cup down on his desk and himself in his office chair. “Yesterday, while you and I were having breakfast, she came up here to see Matt.” He said. “I don’t know everything she told him but apparently she told him that she and he are engaged.”

Kitty blanched at the news and looked over at Doc in complete shock. “She what? How on earth could she do that? Doc you know how Matt feels about the law and marriage not mixing. He would never……”

“The Matt we know wouldn’t, that’s true.” Doc interrupted her. “But you have to realize that his memory loss has changed a few things.”

Kitty sat down hard on the other chair in the room and looked at Doc in total confusion. “I can’t believe that, Doc.” She told him. “Yesterday morning he didn’t know anyone besides himself and he sure didn’t act like he trusted any of us. And now you’re telling me that one word from Teresa Spencer and he believes they are engaged? That’s ridiculous!”

“I agree with you, Kitty.” Doc told her. “But that’s how it is. When I shooed her out of here yesterday, I talked to Matt about it too. He’s not going to just jump up and marry her because she says so but he seems to think he owes her something. What that may be I don’t know. He was pretty much closed mouth about most of the things she told him.”

Kitty continued to shake her head, refusing to believe Matt could easily believe a liar. “Doc, you know what kind of person Teresa is. She’d just as soon lie as to eat when she’s hungry. I know Matt can’t remember right now but I still can’t believe he would just easily accept anything she told him. His instincts about people are better than that.”

“Well,” Doc scrubbed his mustache for a moment. “I always used to think so.”

Kitty stared at the floor for a moment before raising her head, defiance in her stormy expression.  “Well, she’s not getting by with it.” She declared angrily.  “I know what you said about letting him remember on his own, but I will not let him believe that lie.”

“Honey,” Doc tried patiently to calm her.  “I tried to tell him.  I told him he wasn’t engaged to anyone and I even hinted to him that it wasn’t Teresa he was close to.”

Kitty looked at him through narrowed eyes.  “Did he believe you?”

Doc shrugged.  “I don’t think he believes anyone right now, Kitty.  He doesn’t know anyone well enough to believe them.”

Kitty’s eyes flashed angrily.  “Well maybe he needs some help in that area.”  She snapped angrily as she rose to her feet and stomped towards the door.  “Either that or maybe Miss Teresa Spencer and I should have a little talk.”

Doc stared after her she exited the office, slamming the door behind her.  Thinking about it, he sure wouldn’t want to be in Teresa Spencer’s shoes right then.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 6)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Storming down the boardwalk towards the jail, Kitty’s thoughts were black and angry. She had put too much of herself into her relationship with Matt only to have someone like Teresa Spencer come along and tear it all apart.

Rationally, she knew that once Matt regained his memory, he would know Teresa was lying to him, but the nagging thought kept coming to her, ‘what if he didn’t?’

Once she reached the jail, she gave no thought to knocking and entered the jail to find Chester sitting dejectedly at the little table in the middle of the room drinking a cup of coffee and staring off into space. “Chester,” she asked as she entered and noted the look on his face, “are you alright?”

Kitty’s entrance startled Chester and he jumped when she spoke, knocking the coffee over onto the table. Jumping up, Chester’s face flushed as he scrambled over to the stove to try and find something to wipe up the coffee. “Oh, Miss Kitty,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see, Matt.” She said, watching him nervously try to wipe up the coffee and avoid her gaze. “I can see he’s not here but do you have any idea where he is?”

“Oh, uh…. well…..” Chester stammered not sure how to tell her where his boss had disappeared to.

“Well, do you or not?” Kitty demanded impatiently. She knew Chester well enough to know he was trying to avoid telling her something and she had a pretty good idea of what that was. “Is he at Teresa Spencer’s place?” she asked catching Chester off guard and causing him to knock the now empty mug over again and onto the floor.

Chester looked down at the floor before finally raising his eyes to meet hers and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He answered sadly. “But I don’t think nothing’s going on.” He added hopefully. “They was just gonna talk, Mr. Dillon said.”

“Uh huh,” Kitty said turning back for the door. “I just bet they were.”

Exiting the jail, Kitty slammed the door behind her and headed for the stable to get her horse so she could ride out to Teresa’s place. Though her stormy temper sometimes indicated otherwise, Kitty truthfully hated confrontations and fights. But when it came to Matt Dillon, she was more than willing to face down a grizzly if she had to. And Teresa Spencer, to Kitty’s way of thinking, was worse than that.

Marching down the boardwalk, head down in furious contemplation of what she would say, Kitty wasn’t looking where she was walking when she ran headlong into Matt coming out of Mr. Jonas’ store.

“Oh,” Matt exclaimed reaching over and taking her by the arm to steady her and keep her from falling. “Sorry, about that ma’am.” He said politely. “Guess I didn’t see you there.”

Kitty stared up at him silently, temporarily stunned at the formal way in which he addressed her and the fact that he was there in town and not at Teresa’s. “Uh, oh, that’s alright.” She finally managed. “It was actually my fault; I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Are you okay?” Matt asked a little concerned by the look on her face.

Kitty swallowed hard and quickly regained her composure. “Ye..yes, I’m fine.” She said. “You just startled me a little. As a matter of what I was looking for you. I wanted to talk to you, Ma…. Marshal.” She decided it might be best to keep things formal between the two of them for right then. She didn’t want to scare him off before they could talk.

“Oh?” Matt asked. “Is something wrong? Someone acting up at your place?” He nodded his head over towards the Long Branch.

Kitty followed his line of gaze and was pleased for a second that he seemed to remember that, before she remembered that Doc had told him about her ownership of the saloon when he had come to. “No,” she answered. “I..ah… well… it’s kinda… oh well, I don’t guess it’s important.” She finished lamely.

Her righteous anger from earlier was spent when she realized he didn’t know who she was, really. She could see curiosity in his eyes but not the love she was used to seeing.

Matt studied the woman in front of him for a moment, once again feeling that strange spark between them. “Are you sure?” He asked.

Kitty started to say something when Teresa came out of the store and went immediately to Matt’s side, wrapping her arms around his. “Sorry, it took me so long, Darling.” She smiled up at Matt, giving Kitty a malevolent glare. “We can go on out to my place now.”

Matt returned her smile before looking back over at Kitty. “You sure everything’s alright?” he asked again, wanting more than anything to have an excuse to talk further with her.

Kitty nodded and looked down. “I’m sure,” she answered before scowling at Teresa. “I just realized you’re not the one I need to talk to.”

Teresa saw the murderous look in Kitty’s eyes and gripped Matt’s arm even tighter. “Come along,” she told Matt. “I’d like to get out of here.”

Matt nodded, tipped his hat to Kitty and walked away, Teresa still firmly attached to his side.

Shuddering at the sight, Kitty watched them go, before turning and heading back to the Long Branch. Saying nothing to Sam and not acknowledging the several men that greeted her when she entered, Kitty ran upstairs and locked herself in her room.

The sight of Matt in someone else’s arms had shaken her. She knew he didn’t know any better and she didn’t hold him at fault, but still she had expected something more from him besides the polite interest one would show a stranger.

She looked over at her dresser where a picture of her and Matt, taken a couple of years ago in St. Louis, held a place of prominence. The man in that picture was gone, replaced by a courteous man who had no idea who she was. Pouring herself a shot of whiskey, she sat down on her settee to puzzle it all out.

She wanted very badly to go after Teresa with a vengeance and tear her from limb to limb. But what would that accomplish? To all but a few, Matt and Kitty were nothing more than good friends. And now they were not even that.

If she did anything to Teresa, the reprisals against her would be heavy. The saloon woman taking off after a respectable ranch owner’s daughter would not be looked upon too favorably.

Of course that wasn’t as big of a concern as how Matt would look at it. How he would look at her. Currently he did not know Kitty Russell, did not love her.  Anything she would do to Teresa would result in Matt throwing her in jail.

For a long time, Kitty sat in her room weighing her options and evaluating any moves she could possibly make. Finally, two hours after entering her private sanctuary, she once again emerged from there. She had decided to do nothing, at least for the time being.

Doc had told her he had wired for more information concerning Matt’s memory loss. She would wait for his reply.  If it was going to be temporary, as Doc thought it would, then she knew Matt would return to her as soon as he remembered their love.

If it wasn’t and Matt, her Matt, never did regain his memory, then she wasn’t sure what she would do. She still planned on at least talking to Teresa. She had to at least give it a shot and pray she could hold her temper well enough to keep from killing the little witch.

Smiling at that last thought, she regally descended the staircase of the Long Branch, stepped behind the bar and went to work, praying whole heartedly the business of the crowded saloon could help her make it through the evening.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 7)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(3 Days Later)**

Matt leaned back against an old oak tree beside Spring Creek and idly watched the water as it floated by. His mind was a whirl with thoughts and he wasn’t sure what to do about them. The woman, Teresa, seemed sincere but he couldn’t quite accept just yet what she had told him.

Surely if he had been with this woman, and fathered the child she claimed to carry, he would know it, wouldn’t he? Surely he couldn’t have forgotten something like that. But what if it was true. Whether he remembered her or not, if she was carrying his child, then she and the baby were his responsibility.

If only he could be sure. But Teresa refused to let Doc examine her and stated she already had confirmation from a doctor in Wichita.  

And what of the red headed woman, the saloon owner named Kitty. Although she had said little to him and he hadn’t seen her much since he’d bumped into her at the general store, he still felt a connection with her that he didn’t feel with Teresa. If Kitty had of told him that she was carrying his child, he thought he might believe that.

But she hadn’t, Teresa had. Absently he picked up a pebble and tossed it into the creek, watching it sink, and realized that was how he felt. He felt like he was sinking without a lifeline to pull him out.

In the five days since he had regained consciousness in Doc Adams’ office, he had remembered quite a few things but most of them had to do with his job and the fact that he liked steak and prairie chicken but hated catfish stew. He had even remembered Mr. Jonas, the general store owner, as well as a few others around town.

But he couldn’t remember the woman who claimed to be carrying his child. When he had taken her home the other day, he looked carefully around her father’s ranch but nothing looked remotely familiar. And though she had almost insisted that he stay there at her ranch until his shoulder healed, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t feel comfortable there.

Thinking about it, he didn’t feel too comfortable anywhere in the town he was responsible for. He was for all intents and purposes a stranger. The doctor, who seemed pleased at his progress, seemed to be the only one that understood that.

“Matt, I’m happy with what you’ve remembered so far,” Adams had told him. “You’ve made quite a bit of progress but I suspect you wish there was more.”

“Yeah, I do.” Matt said. "I just feel so disjointed, like I've woken up in a foreign land somewhere and can’t speak their language."

"I understand that," Doc had said. "I can't imagine it would easy walking around in a place that's not familiar to you amidst people you don’t know."

"You got any idea how much longer I have to go around like this?" Matt asked a little frustrated.

The physician sadly shook his head, plowing his hands into his pockets. "I wish I did, Matt. I wish I did."

“Mr. Dillon?” Chester was hobbling his way down to the creek side, breaking Matt out of his thoughts. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Matt looked up a little irritated. “Why?” He demanded. “Something happen in Dodge?”

Chester shook his head, taking note of his boss’ tone of voice. “No, no, sir. There ain’t nothing happened. I was just worried about you is all. I mean, what with your hurt shoulder and you’re…………..” Chester stopped not sure how to describe Matt’s head injury and subsequent memory loss.

Matt looked away and waved the young man off. “Well, you needn’t bothered, Chester. I can take care of myself.” He groused. “I’m fine. I just needed a little breathing space.”

Chester’s face fell at the implied reprimand for disturbing the big man. “Oh, well, yeah, I guess… I guess you do, Mr. Dillon. I didn’t mean to bother you.  Like I said I was just worried is all.  I guess I’ll go on back to town then.”

Matt looked up into the hurt brown eyes of his assistant and sighed even deeper. He didn’t mean to snap at him. “I’m sorry, Chester,” he said. “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. I guess I should thank you. It is about time I got back to town anyway.”

“Yes, sir,” Chester answered uncertainly. Doc had explained to him that because of his head injury and subsequent memory loss that Mr. Dillon was going to be a bit different for a while and Chester was beginning to find out how right Doc was.

Matt stiffly gained his feet and placed his hat on his head, walking up to where he had his horse tied. Taking one last look around him, Matt mounted and headed back into a town he still couldn't call home.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 8)**

**Author’s note: I am not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV and didn’t even ask one about this, so take all the medical terminology and diagnosis, etc..., contained herein, for what they are. Fictional writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Two Weeks Later)**

Standing outside of the jail, Matt looked around at the quiet streets of the normally bustling town. It was dawn and few people were up just yet, save the Marshal and those whose living depended on an early routine. He found he liked this time of day best, even though he always felt like he should be waking up somewhere besides the jail every morning.

Two weeks had rocked by for the Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas. Two weeks of memories resurfacing every day. Small revelations that were very significant to the man who had feared he might never remember a single moment of his former life.

His duties as a lawman were the first things he remembered and then, slowly, he began to remember other things. Most of them were small and inconsequential but each of those little discoveries were like a Godsend to the beleaguered man.

Although, legally, Doc was supposed to contact Matt’s superiors and let them know of his injuries and the possible consequences, he had failed to do so. He realized that Matt’s skills and knowledge as a lawman had not diminished with his memory and decided to leave things as they were for a while.

When Doc finally received a reply from his colleague, it told them no more than they already knew. The only thing they could do was wait and pray.

Teresa had made it a practice to stop by the jail most days, encouraging the Marshal to have dinner or supper with her, trying, unsuccessfully for the most part, to get Matt to take time off and spend it solely with her. Matt was never rude but always busy. He felt like a traitor when he was with her, though he wasn’t for sure just why.

Although nothing had been said to him directly, Matt had heard the rumors about him and the beautiful woman named Kitty. Salacious and scandalous though those rumors were, they felt right to the heart sore man, but without proof they remained just that, rumors.

He came close, a couple of times, to just walking into the saloon, taking the woman by the hand and asking her outright. But when he would reach those doors and look over into the saloon at her he would lose his courage and leave. What if the rumors were wrong?

In the last two weeks, since he had woken up in this unknown world, he had been in the saloon exactly three times to break up fights but once his duty was done, he would leave without a word to the saloons proprietor, unsure as to what to say.

Of course even if he had of figured out what to say, he found he didn’t have much time to do so. Between his job, the constant companionship of Chester, as well as frequent visits from Teresa, he seldom had time to himself.

Thinking of Teresa, he thought of the wire he had sent to Wichita requesting info from the doctor there as to whether Teresa had indeed been to see him. Though Matt felt a touch guilty at his subterfuge, he had used his badge to gain information he might not have obtained otherwise, and the information was disheartening.

Teresa was indeed with child and by the good doctor’s estimation she was about 3 months along. Matt, of course, could not remember that far back. Upon checking official paperwork as well as some subtle questions asked of Chester, he found, to his dismay, that for two days, three months ago, he could not be accounted for.

Where he was and what he was doing he honestly did not know, but unless he could prove otherwise, Teresa Spencer was going to tell all of Dodge, convincingly, that he was with her those two days and it was he who fathered her child and he would have no way to refute it.

In fact, on the surface of things, he looked guilty of the child’s paternity without Teresa having to say a word. During his investigation of his own whereabouts during that time, he found that he had indeed been seen in Teresa’s company several times and had even taken her to dinner at Delmonico’s.

Why, was a question he could find no answer for. It seemed that his own natural reticence to speak of anything about a personal nature, to anyone, was working against him now. No one had any idea why he was seen spending time with the petite, green eyed brunette. Especially since his connection with the taller, blue eyed red head was so well known.

Taking a deep breath, Matt took another look around him before adjusting his hat and deciding to take a small tour around the town before going over to Delmonico’s for breakfast. It seemed, each time he did so, he remembered just a little more and he was always eager for the next revelation.

Ambling down the boardwalk, Matt looked at each building as he passed, hoping for some sign of recognition. None came, until he reached the Long Branch. Just outside of the still closed doors, a brief scene filled his mind.

He had been standing outside of this saloon leaning against a post, arms crossed in front of him and looking down into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. He remembered their conversation had something to do with a buffalo hunter. But the thing that caused him to reach for the nearest post and hold on tightly was the feeling he got when he remembered the face he had been admiring.

It was the red head, Kitty, he was talking to and for just a brief moment, he felt such utter and complete love coming from the beautiful girl beside him that it was staggering. Shaking his head and glancing around him, to make sure no one saw him grab onto the post for dear life, Matt looked thoughtfully at the unopened doors of the saloon.

Gathering his wits about him, Matt realized something. His own feelings about the auburn haired beauty may still be a little murky, but he now knew she loved him. Even at this early an hour, knowing she was most probably asleep and had no idea he was outside of her door, he could feel the love she had for him. A love he so desperately wanted to receive as well as return.

Taking a deep breath, Matt squared his shoulders, pushed away from the post and continued his journey through the early morning streets of Dodge with one amazing thought constantly ringing in his head. “She loves me, Kitty Russell loves me.”

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Remember Me 9 thru Conclusion

I don’t own these characters; I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take any medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Two Days Later)**

“Mr. Dillon?”

Matt looked up to see Chester coming into the jail followed by Teresa Spencer. Inwardly he groaned as he outwardly pasted on a smile.

“Miss Spencer’s here to see you.” Chester stated the obvious.

Matt nodded in his direction and looked over at Teresa. “Hello, Teresa,” he said trying not to sound as irritated as he was. “What brings you here?”

“Now, Matt,” Teresa scolded as though talking to a child. “You know why I’m here, darling.”

Matt glanced up at Chester, still hovering in the doorway.

“Uh.. oh.. well, I guess maybe I’d better go on over to the Long Branch.” Chester said realizing his boss didn’t want him there right then. “I need to talk to Miss Kitty.”

Teresa saw a trace of something flicker across the lawman’s face when the saloon owner’s name was mentioned but what it was, she wasn’t sure. She was sure however, she didn’t like it.

When Chester left and the door was firmly closed behind him, Teresa reached over and took Matt’s hand. “I think it’s time we discussed our marriage, Matt.” She watched his face carefully for a reaction but was disappointed at the blank look on his handsome face. “You know, I don’t think it’s too good an idea for us to wait much longer.”

Matt took a deep breath, pulled his hand from hers and stood up from his desk. Walking over to the window, he kept his back to the woman and absently stared out into the street. “Teresa, you must know how difficult this is for me.” He said without turning around. “I mean, there’s so much I don’t remember, don’t know.”

Teresa stood up and walked up behind Matt, placing her hand on his arm. “I know that, Matt.” She said. “But, Matt, I’m almost four months pregnant and although I’m not really showing just yet, it won’t be much longer. Now you don’t want to cause me that kind of shame do you?”

Matt sighed and shook his head. “Of course not,” he said. “I …just uh…”

Before Matt could say more he heard gunshots coming from down the street. Casting a grateful glance skyward, he grabbed his gun belt and hat and hurried out of the jail without a backward glance or word to the irritated brunette he left standing there.

“It came from the Lady Gay, Mr. Dillon.” Chester yelled as he hurried to catch up with the lawman, which was already racing in that direction. Although he couldn’t have said why, he was enormously grateful that whatever was taking place wasn’t happening at the Long Branch.

An hour later, Matt pushed two drunken cowboys into the jail and back to the cells, grateful to note that Teresa was not still there waiting on him. Locking the men up, he breathed a small sigh of relief and started to sit down when another thought struck him. Placing the cell keys on their accustomed peg, he turned and left, locking the door behind him, heading for the Long Branch.

When he reached the saloon, he paused outside the doors until he spotted the beautiful woman that had drawn him there. Pushing his way in, he sauntered casually up to the bar and stood beside her.

Nonplussed for a moment at his sudden appearance, Kitty swallowed hard before greeting him. “Hello, Marshal.” She managed. “How are you?”

Matt looked down into her deep blue depths and saw the same thing he had remembered the other night. Her love for him showed clearly for anyone caring to look. “I’m doing pretty good, Miss Russell.” He answered around the lump in his throat. “How about you?”

“I’m fine,” Kitty answered, “and my name is Kitty,” she reminded him.

Matt nodded as he searched her face. He couldn’t get over how pretty she was and knowing how she felt him about him made her all that much more beautiful as far as he was concerned. Of course, he still wasn’t sure of his feelings for her but he knew there was something that drew him to her. Something Teresa Spencer didn’t have.

Kitty noticed his appraisal of her and grew self-conscious at his piercing gaze. “Is there something wrong, Marshal?” she asked.

“Matt,” he replied, “call me Matt and no, nothing’s wrong. Just got a little thirsty is all.”

Kitty smiled and turned around to the bar, requesting another beer from the bartender and brushing lightly up against him as she did.

Though the touch was innocent and light, it sent shivers down the lawman’s spine and several intense flashes went off behind his eyes. Flashes of him and her, walking side by side, laying side by side and another of him carrying her across the prairie as she lay unconscious in his arms.

That last scene shook him and he involuntarily gasped as he remembered the emotions he had felt that day. Fear, anger, worry and love all came flooding over him in one fell swoop.   His knees went weak at the memory.

Kitty noticed the look on his face and the pallor of his skin. “Are you alright?” She asked taking him firmly by the arm to steady him.

Matt looked down to where her hand rested on his arm and felt a spark of something shoot straight through him at her touch. “I..uh..I’m fine, Miss…I mean Kitty,” he finally said. “I just remembered something I need to do.”

Setting his beer mug on the bar, he hurriedly turned to leave, but stopped before he made the door and looked back at the concerned face of the woman standing there. “I’ll try to stop back by later,” he told her with an eager smile, “that is if it’s okay.”

Kitty returned the smile happily and nodded. “It certainly is,” she said.

Matt tipped his hat to her and exited the doors, face flushed and mind swirling with thoughts and emotions he hadn’t been prepared for. Whatever he felt for the beguiling brunette who claimed to be carrying his baby, he knew had no comparison to what he was currently feeling for the red headed enchantress he had just left in the saloon.

Making his way quickly to the stable, Matt swiftly saddled his horse and rode out of town, his direction uncertain just like his feelings.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 10)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Five Days Later)**

Teresa Spencer took a last look at herself in the mirror, straightening her hat and making sure every strand of hair was perfectly in place. Trying not to concentrate on her growing mid-section, she concentrated instead on her clothes and perfume and a tiny touch of makeup, designed, not to hide her looks, but to enhance them.

From almost the first moment she had met him, Teresa Spencer had but one goal in life.  That was to secure Matt Dillon as her husband. She tried all of the normal feminine techniques, flirting, small gifts, parties that only he was invited to. But Matt had shown little to no interest in her romantically, preferring instead to devote his attentions to his job and that saloon woman.

Teresa had begun to despair of ever reaching her goal. That was until Matt lost his memory. Thinking about it, Teresa almost laughed out loud at how absolutely perfect everything was turning out, compared to as little as three weeks ago.

Three weeks ago, she was an unwed mother, pregnant by her father’s foreman and facing the loss of everything she had when her father found out who the baby’s daddy was. The only man she had ever been around, that her father approved of, to her knowledge, was Matt Dillon. He was a man’s man, her father always said.

Around the time she had conceived Hart Chaney’s bastard baby, she had been spending quite a bit of time in town, working on a settling some property disputes for her father while he was down with the gout.

The time she had spent in Matt’s company had been innocent enough, even the one supper they had shared while discussing the legalities of her kicking homesteaders off of what she thought was her land. She did not know then how valuable her time in Matt’s company would become later.

Now here she was, about to become engaged to the US Marshal of Dodge City, and planning a life with the future Governor of Kansas. Of course Matt didn’t yet know that was his future, but when he became her husband and she could use her father’s wealth and influence, she was certain she could obtain that position for him easily.

“Mrs. Matthew Dillon,” she said out loud, chuckling lightly. “That’s an achievement even that saloon trash couldn’t obtain.”

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Kitty sat in her office working diligently on her books trying to catch up on the work she’d let slide while her mind was centered on other problems. Sitting back, she rubbed her neck and stretched trying to ease the kinks her in back. Her books were now caught up and her other problems were currently unsolvable.

It had now been three weeks since Matt was shot and lost his memory, three very trying weeks for the red head. Through some careful questioning of Chester, she knew Matt was aware that he and she had been friends. And she figured Matt had probably also heard the many rumors that circulated in the town about just how friendly they were.

But except for that one night that he had dropped in for a drink, Matt had made no move towards her.  He hadn’t even come back in that night as he had promised.  The few times he had entered the Long Branch it was strictly in his capacity as a lawman. If he did any drinking or socializing, it was at one of the other saloons in town, not hers.

Of course thinking about it she sort of understood. Without his memory to guide him, Matt didn’t know which road to take. Did he pursue a relationship with a tavern owner based on rumors or did he spend time with a respectable rancher’s daughter who claimed to be his fiancé? Or did he run from both options.  It was not an enviable position to be in.

Still the loss of him in her life hurt, it hurt very much. Several times she had come close to walking over to the jail and talking to him, telling him exactly how close they really were. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t bring herself to make Matt’s life even more complicated than it already was by insisting on a relationship he didn’t remember.

Besides, her weary heart warned her, if he really loved her, the way she loved him, he would remember that wouldn’t he?  He would remember her.

Looking at the clock sitting on the top of her desk, she saw it was about time she went out front and started helping out. With a trail herd just in and another one coming, she knew the night was likely to be a very busy one for the Long Branch.

Closing her books, she locked them up and left her office to take her spot as the belle of the Long Branch saloon.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Matt stood in front of the little mirror in his office, wiping off the last traces of shaving cream and making sure he was presentable. It had been a whole week since he had stood outside of the Long Branch and remembered the love that one woman had for him.

Since that time, other, more intimate, memories had surfaced and Matt was now certain that he belonged with Kitty Russell and not Teresa Spencer. He knew his timing could be better, with a couple of herds in, both he and she were apt to be fairly busy tonight, but he wasn’t going to wait any longer.

Tonight he was going to talk to the red headed angel that haunted his dreams and get some things straightened out between the two of them. Tonight he was going to take a step in reclaiming a part of his life he had lost along with his memory.

Stepping out of the jail, Matt pulled a small piece of lint off of his vest and polished his boot tops on the back of his pant legs. Nervously he licked his lips as he looked down the street towards the Long Branch. He felt like a schoolboy asking a girl out for the first time.

Berating himself unmercifully he was reminded that he should be concentrating solely on his job tonight as well as Teresa Spencer and her claims of his paternity, but his heart overruled both thoughts. His heart would allow him no peace until he at least had a talk, a real talk, with the beautiful red head that filled his senses so completely.

Adjusting his hat, he stepped off the boardwalk in the direction of the saloon just as Teresa drove up. “Matt, darling.” She giggled. “How wonderful of you to be waiting for me.”

Matt tried but was unable to completely hide the scowl that had formed upon her arrival. “I’m sorry, Teresa,” he said making an effort not to be rude. “I actually wasn’t waiting for you; I was getting ready to make my rounds. We’ve got a herd already in and another one coming; it’s likely to be rowdy tonight.”

Teresa’s irritation at once again being rejected was plain. “Oh no, you don’t, Matt Dillon,” she fairly growled. “I have been doing everything in my power to give you the space and time you need to adjust to this but enough is enough. Now we need to discuss this and we are going to do that now.”

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Looking up into the angry green eyes of the rancher’s daughter he knew she was right. They did need to talk and he they might as well get it over with. “Move over,” Matt said as he climbed up into the buggy. “There’s a little restaurant at the edge of town where we can talk.”

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 11)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Kitty Russell had spent a lot of years in saloons, both as a hostess and an owner, and she had developed a sort of sixth sense about the men that frequented such establishments. Like her bartender, she could usually size a person up and tell you a great deal about them within a few minutes after they entered.  She was a pretty good judge of men.

Looking at the three men who had just come in and moved in her direction, her sixth sense told her these men could be a problem. Glancing over at Sam, she could tell he felt the same way. “Keep an eye on them.” She whispered when her employee stepped close. “They act up in the slightest and you go get the Marshal.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sam answered quietly.

Giving the men a wide berth, Kitty stepped around the bar and headed to one of the back tables to deliver a fresh pack of cards, a bottle of whiskey and greetings to the men sitting there.

As she passed, one the ragged cowboys took notice and elbowed the filthy man next to him. “Looky there, Hudgins. Ain’t that a pretty sight?” Having already consumed two bottles of rotgut at the Texas Trail along with his friends, Elmore Hudgins was feeling no pain and looking for trouble.

Hudgins grinned, showing yellowed, tobacco stained teeth. “Sure is,” he agreed. “Don’t know what she costs, but I betcha she’d be worth it.”

The man who made up the last of the scruffy trio laughed. “You two don’t stand a snowballs chance in Hades of spending the night with the likes of her. Even could you afford it, which ya cain’t. I betcha that dress she’s got on costs more’n a year’s wages.”

Hudgins glared angrily over at his traveling companion. “You saying I ain’t good enough for her, Griffin?”

Milt Griffin recognized the anger in his friend’s voice and decided against a confrontation right then. “Naw, that ain’t what I’m a sayin’ at all, Hudgins. You and me and Dunn here are just as good as anybody, it’s just we ain’t rich. And by the looks a her, it’d take a rich man to get her attentions for the night.”

Hudgins glared at his friend and turned back to the bar. “Bartender give us a bottle down here,” he demanded, “and make it quick. We got some drinkin’ to do.”

Sam glanced at Kitty then picked up a bottle and three glasses, delivering it to the end of the bar. “That’ll be two dollars.” Sam said and waited until the money was dropped on the bar top before setting the whiskey and glasses down. Scooping up the money, Sam swiftly stepped away and deposited it into the box under the bar, never taking his eyes of the trio.

Kitty shook her head and headed back behind the bar. Though Sam was quick and good at his job, nights like tonight required more than just one person to handle the work and since her other bartender was sick, Kitty was forced to fill in.

Reaching the end of the bar, Kitty had just stepped to the side when two arms wrapped themselves around her waist and she was pulled into Elmore Hudgins filthy chest as he dipped his head down to nuzzle her neck. “How’s about you and me going upstairs and have ourselves a dance,” he slurred.

Kitty pulled against the man, forcefully trying to disengage herself from his embrace. “Let me go,” she demanded.

“Aw, now, come on,” his foul breath washed over her, making her nauseous. “You don’t want to be like that.”

Sam saw the man grab Kitty and quickly bent down, securing the shotgun in his hands. Raising it to his chest, he aimed it squarely at Hudgins head and cocked the trigger. “Let her go,” his deep baritone gave no room for argument.

Hudgins looked over at Sam then glanced to his companions, watching as Dunn moved back into a position behind Sam. Relaxing his grip on Kitty, but keeping close to her, he shrugged. “Cain’t blame a feller for trying, can ya?”

Chester, who witnessed the fracas, wasn’t convinced the trouble was over with and silently left the saloon in search of Mr. Dillon. Seeing him drive by in a buggy with Teresa Spencer, he hesitated at interrupting. But a muffled scream, coming from inside the bar behind him, made up his mind. “Mr. Dillon!” he yelled, hobbling as quickly as his stiffened leg would allow and waving his arms frantically.

Matt saw his assistant out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Chester hurrying in his direction, a note of alarm in his voice and face. Pulling on the reins, Matt ignored Teresa’s protests at the intrusion and steered the buggy over to where Chester stood anxiously waiting on him. “What’s wrong, Chester?”

“I think you might orta look into the Long Branch, Mr. Dillon.” Chester told him. “Three cowboys come in there a little bit ago and I think there’s gonna be trouble for sure.  They were bothering Miss Kitty.”

“Matt, don’t you dare,” Teresa hissed, clutching at his arm.

Matt shrugged her off and quickly climbed out the buggy, all but running across the street to the Long Branch, his only thought being that Kitty was in there and maybe in trouble.

Reaching the batwing doors, Matt paused and looked in. Sam was lying senseless on the floor and two grubby cowboys had a hold of Kitty, dragging her towards the stairs, while the rest of the saloon patrons looked on in shock.

“Hold it,” Matt demanded as he pulled his gun and aimed at the men. “Let her go!”

Upon seeing her knight in western armor enter the saloon, Kitty breathed a sigh of relief until she saw the man behind him, raise his gun and cock his trigger. “Matt, behind you!” she screamed.

Matt whirled around and fired, hitting the man squarely in the chest but not before Dunn was able to squeeze off one shot of his own. The shot that made its way unerringly into soft flesh of the saloon owner’s chest and brought total recollection of everything to the Dodge City Marshal that loved her.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 12)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

As the woman in his hands stopped struggling and began to slump toward the floor, Elmore Hudgins realized just what a precarious position he and Milt Griffin were in. Looking over at Milt he could see he felt the same way. Letting go of the woman they reached for their guns.

“Drop them,” Matt ordered, as Elmore and Milt both pulled their guns. “Both of you.”

Seeing the big man with his gun raised and pointed in their direction, ready to fire, both of the men realized they stood no chance of winning at a game where the odds were stacked in his favor. They threw their guns to the floor and raised their hands.

“Chester,” Matt called over his shoulder, “get their guns. Some of you men get this scum out of here.”

As soon as the guns were secured, Matt holstered his gun and rushed to kneel down by Kitty’s side while Chester and a few others pushed the two would be rapists out of the door. “Kitty,” he called tenderly. “Kitty.”

Kitty did not answer, did not move. A spreading stain of red was slowing coloring the floor beneath her. Gently and quickly as he could, Matt reached down and picked her up. Turning towards the door, he headed out and towards the doctor’s office.

Swiftly, Matt carried Kitty up the stairs, banging on the door with his foot until the physician opened the door and ushered them in.

“What happened?” Doc asked as Matt entered and carefully laid her on the table in the middle of the room.

“She was shot, Doc.” Matt answered trying hard to control the emotion in his voice and failing. “I don’t know how bad.”

Doc looked over sharply at the lawman noticing the look in his eyes as he looked down on the stricken woman. Matt remembered. The dull look of polite interest, Matt had adopted, was gone, replaced by the tender look of a man in love.

“Get her clothes off, Matt.” Doc told him as he stepped over to his cabinet and began pulling out the supplies he would need.

Matt tried hard not to look into her pale face as he gently lifted her up, pulling her blouse and undergarments from her body. The hole in her chest seemed even bigger and more ominous without the cloth to disguise it and Matt was hard pressed not to cry out when he saw it.

Doc gently laid his hand on Matt’s arm and looked up at him. “I’m going to do my best,” he told him. “You have to believe she will be alright.”

Matt took a deep breath before nodding and stepping back to let Doc begin his work.

Following Doc’s direction to the letter, Matt worked tirelessly by his side to save the life of the woman, he now knew, he loved more than life its self. As each second ticked by, another memory assailed him of the times he had spent in this marvelous woman’s company and he could only pray for more such times in the future.

Two hours later, Doc leaned back from the table and dropped a misshapen metal slug into a bowl of water along with the instrument that had retrieved it. Unable to look into the doctor’s face for fear of what he would see, Matt watched, transfixed, as tendrils of red swirled around in the water.

Continuing to work, Doc repaired as much damage as he could and finally applied a thick bandage over the wound. Checking her pulse and temperature, Doc finally listened to her heart before removing the stethoscope from his ears and moving over to the desk, sitting down heavily in his chair.

Matt stood silently by her side; afraid to take his eyes off of her for fear that one moment’s lack of attention would rob him of her. “Is she going to live?” he finally asked, never taking his eyes off of her small still form.

Doc raised bleary, red rimmed eyes to the tall man then looked back over at his patient. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I just don’t know.”

Finally prying his eyes away from Kitty, Matt looked over into the exhausted face of his friend. “I remember it all now, Doc.” He said softly. “When I saw her in the clutches of those two men, it all started coming back to me. How much I love her and how much I’ve hurt her. I’m not sure I could continue living if I don’t get a chance to make that up to her.”

Doc wearily scrubbed his mustache in reply, looking once again at the pale face of his patient. He didn’t know of any words he could say that would be of any comfort to the man in front of him. Comfort, Doc knew, would only come in the form of healing for Kitty Russell.

Looking around the room, Matt spotted a stool against the wall and stepped over, pulling it next to the bed and sitting down. Lovingly, he took her hand in his and held it tightly; willing his strength into her body through the connection and praying with all that was in him, that it would be enough.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Kitty awoke to the sensation of her hand being firmly held by a larger one. Swallowing hard, she looked around to see Doc slumped over his desk in a doze and Matt sitting beside her. It was his hand that held hers and his smile that greeted her as she looked at him.

“Morning, Red,” his smile broadened as he noted the look on her face. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up. I know you’re not much of a morning person but still………” He trailed off when he realized she didn’t know of his previous day’s epiphany. Holding her hand just a touch tighter, he leaned in close to place a soft kiss on her lips. “I remember, Kitty.” He said softly. “I remember.”

Tears streaming, Kitty was too weak to raise a hand to brush them away and truthfully didn’t care. Matt had come back to her. The polite stranger that had solemnly went about the town doing his duty as Marshal but showing no interest or knowledge of the people of his town, was gone. That man, thankfully, was now replaced by the caring and gentle giant she had given her heart to six years prior.

“Ma..Matt,” she whispered. “You know?”

Matt nodded as he placed another kiss on her lips and one on her cheek. “I know.”

No other words were needed by the man or the woman. Those two words told the story and filled them both with a peace and comfort, both sorely needed.

“You close your eyes and sleep, now.” Matt told her. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Her lips lifted into a smile as she nodded slightly and closed her eyes, drifting back into natural, healing slumber, knowing when she awoke, Matt, her Matt, would be there.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 13)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**Also the following chapters were co-written with my friend Deb/Redzz. I couldn’t have finished this without her.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Matt lumbered down the boardwalk carrying a bag in his hand and a soft song on his lips. Six days had now passed since Kitty had been shot and Doc had deemed her well enough to be able to return to her rooms. Though, to her chagrin, he still wasn’t willing to let her out of bed, she would at least feel a lot more comfortable in her own place.

Stopping by the Long Branch, he had picked up a bag that Sue had prepared for him, and was now on his way over to deliver it to Kitty before taking his leave and heading out to Teresa Spencer’s place, something he seriously did not want to do but knew he had to.

He, of course, hadn’t let on to Teresa that his memory had returned. He wasn’t sure just exactly why, but he had a feeling it was important that she not find out yet. Of course that meant that he was forced to spend time with her when he would rather be with Kitty, but he’d had no choice.

His life, the last six days, had been a delicate balancing act of trying to spend as much time as possible with Kitty, while keeping Teresa convinced that he still believed her lies and doing his job as Marshal without the whole town knowing of the drama currently taking place in his life. He had managed so far, but he knew he couldn’t continue. He had to find a way to expose the umber haired schemer called Teresa.

With the return of his memory, came the certain knowledge of why he had spent time in Teresa’s company and exactly where he had been those two days he had been unaccounted for. He hadn’t been with Teresa and he had the proof of that in a small box in his safe at the jail.

But his knowledge was proof to no one but himself and those who loved him. He still had to find the truth. Careful and quiet inquiries had brought him the news that Teresa and her father’s foreman had been more than friendly on many occasions, but that was proof of nothing but poor taste on both their parts. Somehow he needed to find more than that.

Entering Doc’s office, Matt found Kitty lying on a cot in the front room, unread newspaper in her hand. When she saw him walk in, she placed the paper down and tried to get up, groaning in the effort.

“Hey, there,” Matt cautioned as he hurried to her side. “What do you think you’re doing? Lay back down there. Where’s Doc?”

Kitty shook her head in exasperation. “I’m trying to get up, I don’t want to lie down anymore and Doc’s down at Mr. Jonas’ store. Anything else you’d like to know, Marshal?”

Matt chuckled out loud and gingerly pulled her to him, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Nope, I think that about covers it.” He said, once again reminded how grateful he was that she was alive and his. “But I still don’t think you should be moving around too much.”

“I have to move around, Matt.” Kitty told him. “I’ll go stir crazy if I have to lie around much more. I’m used to being up and going.”

Matt nodded, knowing he would feel much the same way. “I know, honey, but if you don’t give yourself ample time to get well before you get up and go traipsing around, you’ll do yourself more harm than good.”

“Well, isn’t that the kettle calling the pot black,” Doc Adams said from the doorway as he entered, causing Kitty to giggle. “It seems to me, I’ve been telling a certain overgrown public servant that very same thing for several years now.”

Matt gave Doc a brief glare before shrugging with a rueful grin. “I guess you got me there, Doc.” He admitted. “But it’s not me that needs to stay in bed right now, it’s Kitty. And I intend for you to do just that,” he turned to her, taking her hand and giving it a loving squeeze.

Kitty smiled at him but avoided making any promises she wasn’t sure she would keep.

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Doc voiced her thoughts exactly. “She’s as stubborn as you are, Mr. Marshal and usually does what she wants despite what we think.”

Kitty’s giggles could be heard down on the street as she nodded in agreement. “He’s right, ya know.”

Matt joined in her the laughter, until he saw a grimace cross her face as she starting pulling herself to her feet. “Hey, now,” he objected. “Don’t be trying to get up on your own. That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”

Kitty took his hand, gratefully accepting his help to her feet, at the same time as shaking her head negatively. “Nope, you’re here to make me feel better.” She said, the giggles threatening to spill over again. “And you’ve definitely done that.”

Once she was on her feet, Matt carefully pulled her into his arms, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m glad to hear that,” he sighed.

Doc, standing forgotten behind them, grinned slightly and scrubbed his mustache before loudly clearing his throat. “Ahem,” he said. “Seems to me, a certain young lady needs to get dressed and a certain Marshal needs to get out of here so she can.”

Matt looked down regretfully at Kitty and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I do. I have to ride out to Teresa Spencer’s place today, so I might as well get it over with.” He didn’t miss the look on Kitty’s face as he said the woman’s name. “Now, Kitty, you know why I have to do this.”

“I know,” Kitty said. “But I don’t have to like it. That little witch has done nothing but lie and connive this last month to get you to marry her. And she’s not going to quit until she gets you in front of the preacher.”

Matt broke out into a grin. “That is one thing you don’t have to worry about,” he told her. “The only way I’m getting in front of a preacher is with a shotgun at my back and a certain red head on my arm.”

Kitty gave him a curious look, before pulling his head down for a brief kiss. “I’ll remember that.” She teased.

Realizing what she meant, Matt took a swift step backwards. “Well, I guess I’d better be going.” He said hastily. “I’ll stop by when I get back to town tonight.”

“See that you do,” Kitty told him as he beat a swift retreat and she chuckled at the look on his face.

Once outside of the office, as he headed over to the stables to retrieve his horse, Matt thought about that last part of their conversation. As he saddled up Buck, and mounted to ride out, a plan formed in his head. It was going to be uncomfortable for everyone involved but it might just be the only thing that would work.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 14)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**Also the following chapters were co-written with my friend Deb/Redzz. I couldn’t have finished this without her.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Matt rode down the lane towards the Spencer ranch, certain of his course of action and just as certain he was not going to like it. But after the long ride and a lot of thought, he knew of nothing else he could do.

The more he pondered about all that he had found out, the more he was sure that Hart Chaney was the father of Teresa’s child. That man had made himself indispensable to Teresa’s father since the day he had first come to work there. And he had never hidden the fact that he was interested in the rancher’s pretty daughter.

Teresa, for her part had never openly encouraged the man, but from some of the cowboy gossip, Matt had overheard, she didn’t always discourage it either.

Matt prayed all the way out there that what he was about to do would work and wouldn’t blow up in his face. But having no other ideas, he steeled himself to carry it out.

As Matt rode into the ranch, he scanned the area until he had located Hart working over by the barn. Pretending to take no notice, Matt made his way quickly to the door of the house and knocked, waiting for Teresa to answer. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Matt, darling,” she enthused. “I’m so glad you’re here and right on time too. Come in.”

Matt took his hat off but stayed at the door. “Actually, Teresa,” he said trying very hard to sound sincere. “I was wondering if you would walk with me a little. I’ve got something I need to talk to you about.”

An uncertain look crossed Teresa’s face but she nodded, stepped out of the house and took the arm he extended. “You sound awfully serious, Matt.” She observed. “What do you need to say that you couldn’t say inside?”

Forcing himself to maintain a smile, Matt kept their direction of travel headed towards the barn and the last known location of the ranch foreman. Finally spotting him nearby, Matt took Teresa’s arm and turned to face him, making sure she couldn’t see Hart.

 “Teresa,” he began with all the sincerity he could muster, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re right. This baby you’re carrying deserves to have his father’s name. It shouldn’t be born out of wedlock.”

As Teresa squealed in happiness, wrapping her arms around him, Matt looked up to see an angrily surprised Hart Chaney turn swiftly and head to the barn. While Teresa stood next to Matt prattling on about all the things she would need to do for the big day, Matt noted, with some satisfaction, the livid foreman mounting his horse and racing angrily out of the barn and out towards town. Part one of the plan seemed to be working.

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

After being escorted back to the Long Branch by Doc and being fussed over by Sam, Chester and the girls that worked for her, Kitty was exhausted. But her mind would not let her rest. Of primary concern to her, of course, were Matt and the conniving brunette who was trying to trap him into marriage.

Knowing that Matt had regained his memory and was no longer confused by the woman, did little to soothe Kitty’s fears of what Teresa Spencer might do.

But right then, Kitty knew, it was a problem she could not solve. Besides, unless she was mistaken, and she knew she wasn’t, her cowboy had an idea of how to resolve this and she was certain he was already working on it.

That left Kitty with the more mundane tasks of her own to worry about, not the least of them being her books. She hadn’t touched them since she’d been shot, and she seldom let her paperwork go for more than a couple of days.

Knowing the argument she was going to get from Sam, Doc and everyone else, she nevertheless pulled herself from bed and walked unsteadily down the stairs and to her office.

Sam, having just returned from the cellar with a fresh keg of beer, spotted her as she walked out of the room with her arms full of books. “Miss Kitty,” he cried in alarm, as he saw her waver a little. “You shouldn’t be up.”  Dropping the keg where he stood, he rushed over to her side.

Grateful for the support to her weakened limbs, Kitty didn’t protest as he gently took her arm but she refused to let him lift her and carry her back upstairs. “Just help me over to a table, Sam.” She instructed. “I’ll be alright. I need to work on these books.”

“Well, can’t you work on them in your rooms?” Sam asked, knowing what the Marshal and Doc would say about her being downstairs instead upstairs in bed.

“Maybe,” Kitty replied, “but I don’t want to. Now I’ve been cooped up in Doc’s office for several days and I refuse to be cooped up here as well. I may not be able to move about too easily but I can sit down here just as easily as I can sit upstairs.”

Knowing his stubborn boss was not going to listen to him, Sam reluctantly left her where she was and brought her a pot of coffee to drink while she worked on her books.

Kitty was still there an hour later, when Hart Chaney came in, demanding a bottle of whiskey in as angry a tone of voice she had ever heard.

Kitty, of course, knew the man worked for Teresa and like Matt had heard some of the gossip concerning the two. Thinking she just might be able to gather some useful information, she stopped Sam when he reached for the payment Hart offered for the bottle.

“Sam, that bottle’s on the house,” Kitty called from her perch behind the table. “Mr. Chaney looks like he could use a kindness.”

Hart turned slowly and raked his eyes over the amber haired beauty appreciatively. Just as Kitty had heard about his supposed dalliances, he had heard about hers and he felt a certain kinship with the saloon owner because of it. Not to mention the fact that the woman was quite simply the prettiest woman in Dodge, including Teresa.

“Seems to me, we’ve got something in common,” Kitty said to him, as he accepted his bottle and sauntered over to her table.

“What’s that?” He asked as though he didn’t know.

“Sit down, and we’ll talk about it.” Kitty smiled knowingly as he took a seat beside her and began to drink.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 15)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**Also the following chapters were co-written with my friend Deb/Redzz. I couldn’t have finished this without her.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

Matt stood outside of the church and looked up into the cloudless sunny skies, praying for rain. Two weeks prior he had asked Teresa Spencer for her hand in marriage and she had accepted. Due to her expectant condition, the wedding was a hasty affair, but glancing inside the building, Matt could tell it was intended to be a regal 0ne as well. He just hoped it didn’t happen.

The day he had proposed to Teresa, Hart Chaney had ridden into town and after a couple bottles of free whiskey, confessed all to Kitty. Matt now knew for a fact that Hart Chaney was the father and that he wanted Teresa.

Of course, it wasn’t only love that drove the foreman. He wanted the fine ranch that came along with the package as well as his child. Growing up without a family had had a profound effect on the gruff cowman and he wanted his child to have better than that.

Matt had hoped that Chaney would have done something by this time to stop the impending nuptials, but so far he had done little besides ride into town most nights and spend the evening with a bottle.

“Well, you ready for this?” Doc stepped up beside him, scrubbing his mustache and watching Matt intently.

“I’m ready to get things over with.” Matt replied, knowing Doc understood his underlying meaning. “I’m just hoping it happens sooner than later.”

Doc nodded. “Yeah, me too, for everyone concerned.” Scanning the churchyard as well as the surrounding area, Doc spied Kitty making her way carefully down towards them. “Here comes Kitty.” He whispered.

Matt looked up and inwardly groaned. He didn’t know how far he was going to have to carry this farce and he wasn’t sure he wanted Kitty there to witness it. “Uh, what are you doing here?” Matt asked as she approached.

Kitty gave him a teasing grin. “Why, Marshal,” she said impishly “this is supposed to be the event of the season. Besides, I have a feeling there’s going to be quite a show here today. I’m not about to miss it.”

Doc stepped up and took Kitty by the arm. “Miss Russell, may I escort you into the church?” He smirked at the irritated look on the Marshal’s face.

Kitty shook her head. “Not just yet, Doc.” She told him. “I think the fireworks are going to start soon and I don’t want to miss them.”

Matt started to ask her what she meant by that but was stopped by the voice of his current fiancé. “Matt, darling,” Teresa said as she came up, escorted by her father. “Why aren’t you in the church already?”

Matt looked down at the elegantly dressed woman in white holding on tightly to the arm of her dapper father, dressed in tails, and wanted more than anything to run away screaming.

Instead, he shrugged and forced himself to smile. “Just waiting on a pretty woman to join me in there.” He answered, giving a Kitty a look which informed her _which_ pretty woman he was referring to.

Kitty gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before directing her gaze to Teresa.  Looking over at the detestable woman, Kitty gave her most innocent smile. “You’re looking quite lovely today, Teresa.” She stated. “That dress almost covers your pregnancy.”

Teresa gasped and turned murderous eyes upon the red head standing beside her. “Why you…….”

“Why me, what?” Kitty asked with a dangerous smile.

Teresa opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by a shout from the street. “Teresa, honey!” Hart Chaney yelled from the gate leading into the churchyard. “I ain’t gonna let ya do it. That baby’s mine not his.”

Teresa turned and stared as the obviously inebriated man staggered forward, intent on reaching her side. The color she had worked so hard to put into her cheeks that morning faded as her worst nightmare came true. Glancing around, she saw a large portion of Dodge City’s finest citizens, who had gathered for the ceremony, were now standing in complete shock as Hart weaved his way to her side.

“Teresa,” Hart declared when he finally stumbled up to stand beside her. “I ain’t gonna let ya marry this badge. That little’n is mine not his.”

“I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.” Teresa hissed. “Go away from here. Go away I say.”

“Go away?” Hart asked, confused and a little hurt. “That ain’t what ya told me all them nights your pa was laid up with the gout. You couldn’t get enough of me then.”

Teresa paled and looked wildly at the people standing around her, finally settling her gaze on Kitty. “You!” She accused. “This is your fault. You couldn’t stand the thought that I could have something you couldn’t and you set this up.”

“Naw, she din’t,” Hart piped up. “She was real nice. Not as nice as you was though.” He leered at her.

Teresa ignored him and kept her gaze focused on Kitty. “You told him to say that, didn’t you?” she seethed.

Kitty wanted nothing more than to tear the vile woman’s hair out right then, but in that Teresa was pregnant, Kitty restrained herself, physically anyway. “I didn’t tell him to say anything.” She took a step closer to Teresa. “He’s your lover not mine.”

Teresa was not a woman who was easily intimidated but something about the saloon owner did just that. Still, she held her ground. “You’re jealous!” Teresa declared with an outraged tone. “You wanted Matt and you’re mad because he chose me instead of you. You want my man and you’re mad because you can’t have him.”

Kitty took yet another step closer, her expression unchanging. “Now why would I be jealous of something like you?” Kitty smiled. “I’m not pregnant by one man while trying to trick another one into marrying me. I don’t have to lie to anyone to get attention. Perhaps it’s you, who is jealous of me. Besides, Matt’s not yours and he never will be.”  Kitty’s tone became even more dangerous.

Matt kept a careful eye on both of the women. The last thing he wanted was a physical confrontation between a pregnant woman and a still recovering gunshot victim. Glancing around him, he saw that he was in the minority on that. Most of the town’s people, now standing in rapt attention to the confrontation, would like nothing more.

Hart, who had been watching the two women, tried hard to interrupt but Teresa didn’t seem to know he was there.

Teresa’s eyes widened at Kitty’s last remark.  “Why you slut!” she snarled.  “He’ll never be yours that’s for sure.  Why would he pay for something he can get for free?”

Before Kitty could give it any thought her hand was up and resounding ‘whap’ was heard across the churchyard as Kitty slapped the insolent witch in front of her.  “I may be free,” Kitty said quietly.  “But at least I’m not cheap.”

“You bitch!” Teresa screamed cradling her injured cheek.  “You just wait.  I’m going to have you arrested for assault.”  Turning to Matt, she pointed at Kitty.  “Arrest her!” she seethed.

Kitty raised her hand again, poised for another strike.   But Matt stepped up and in between them, giving Kitty a warning look, while Teresa continued to rant.

Hart, who was still standing beside Teresa, grew tired of being ignored and decided it was time he did something about it. Suddenly grabbing Teresa about the waist, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth down upon hers, silencing her once and for all.

Teresa’s father, who up till then had kept silent, suddenly burst out into laughter. “Well, it’s about time.” He declared. “I was wondering when this would happen.”

Matt looked over at the man, stunned. “You knew about them?” he questioned.

Old man Spencer nodded with a grin. “Yep, even encouraged it. But my daughter has a mind of her own and she wanted you.”

“Ah.. Mr. Spencer,” Matt began, but the rancher waved him off just as his daughter and his foreman came up for breath.

“Don’t worry none about it, Marshal.” Spencer said as he took both of them in hand. “I’m gonna take these two into the church right now and get some things settled, after that there’s a reception that’s still gonna go on at the Dodge House and everybody is invited that wants to come.” The man looked over at Kitty and smiled even broader. “That includes you.” He told her.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Matt stood by Kitty while Spencer pushed a stunned Teresa and a happy drunk named Hart into the church to say their vows. “You set that up?” he asked the beautiful woman beside him.

Kitty shook her head. “Nope, but I wish I had.”

Matt chuckled as he pulled her into his arms. “Let’s go back to the Long Branch and have our own private reception,” he told her.

Kitty nodded as she wrapped her arm around his waist and started walking away with the man she loved.

**MKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMKMK**

**(Part 16)**

**Author’s Note:  I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV and haven’t even consulted with one.  So please take the following medical descriptions and diagnosis etc…, contained herein, for what they are.  Fictional Writing.**

**MKMKMKMKMKMK**

As the two walked off together, Kitty looked up at Matt and a thought occurred to her. “Matt?”

Matt looked down into her bright blues eyes and saw the question there.  Stopping just outside the doors of the Long Branch, he pulled her in close.  “Before you ask, NO, I would not have gone through with it.  You know how I feel about the badge and marriage not mixing.  And, NO, I would not have claimed that baby as mine.  I would never choose that woman as the mother of any child of mine.”

Kitty smiled.  “I know that, Matt.  And I wasn’t worried about either of those things once I knew you remembered everything.  But….”

“But, what?” Matt asked concerned.

“What if you hadn’t gotten your memory back?  Would you have married her then?”

Matt could see that really bothered her and he knew why.  Gently cupping her chin he locked eyes with her.  “No.  With or without my memory, I could never be with her knowing how I felt about you.”

Kitty arched a brow.  “Me?  But you didn’t know me.”

Matt glanced around and then quickly settled a kiss on her lips.  “My heart knew you, Kitty.  It never forgot you even when my mind did.”

Kitty beamed at happily at him and reached up, returning the kiss as another question occurred to her.

“One more thing, Matt.  If Hart hadn’t of stopped Teresa, would you have arrested me for assault?”

Matt chuckled and nodded.  “I already did,” he replied.  “You Miss Russell can consider yourself under house arrest for the rest of the day.”

“Oh really,” she grinned.  “And are you going to lock me up, Marshal?”

Matt nodded pulling her towards the backstairs leading up to her rooms.  “Yep and I’m gonna stay there with you to make sure you don’t escape.”

“Hmmmm,” Kitty giggled, “that might be hard to do.  I can be quite a handful.”

Matt pulled her flush with his body and whispered into her ear, “I think I’m ‘up’ for it.”

Kitty’s eyes widened a little as she felt the proof of that statement.  “I do believe you are, Marshal.” She giggled even louder as she took his hand and led him quickly up to her rooms.

 Finis

 

**Just Remember I Love You – (Song Writer: Rick Roberts/Firefall)**

When it all goes crazy and the thrill is gone   
The days get rainy and the nights get long   
When you get that feeling you were born to lose   
Staring at your ceiling   thinking of your blues   
When there's so much trouble that you want to cry   
The world has crumbled  and you don't know why   
When your hopes are fading   and they can't be found   
Dreams have left you waiting  friends have let you down   
Just remember I love you and it'll be alright   
Just remember I love you  more than I can say   
Just remember I love you and it'll be alright   
Maybe then your blues will fade away   
When you need a lover and you're down so low   
You start to wonder but you never know   
When it feels like sorrow is your only friend   
Knowing that tomorrow you'll feel this way again   
When the blues come calling at the break of dawn   
The rain keeps falling but the rainbow's gone   
When you feel like crying and the tears won't come   
Then your dreams are dying then you're on the run   
Just remember I love you   
More than I can say   
Just remember I love you   
And it'll be alright


End file.
